First, we must realize that the French Revolution occured in what was then the most advanced society of the day.  This civil war actually was the most momentous in the whole revolutionary world because it took the customary old regime and replaced it with what has become our modern society.

The Old Regime
    During the Old Regime, France was still, of course, aristocratic and even in some ways feudal.  I was divided into three estates, first: the clergy, second: the nobility, and third: everyone else.  The Estates General (the gathering of the three estates) of the whole kingdom had not met since 1641.  Another problem was that the church bodies owned between 5 and 10% of the land of the country.  The income from the church was divided unequally.  The aristocrats with high ecclesiastical titles got most of the money, so the regular priests were basically poor.
    As the bourgeoisie became wealthier and literate, they came to resent the aristocrats.  This was not only because the aristocrats were exempt from paying taxes but also because the noblemen acted as if they were superior and were very arrogant.  Be